The 2010 edition of the Paris-Nice event will see the Col de Vence returning after eight years of absence to challenge the riders in the penultimate stage of the event. The last time the Col de Vence was featured in the Paris-Nice, it was 8 years ago in a relatively flat race. Now it’s back, along with eight other climbs, and this time, the climb is set to pose an arduous task to the pelothon just within 30 kilometers from the finish line at Tourrettes-sur-Loup.

The positioning of the Col de Vence will need some careful strategizing from the riders and team directors. Although there will still be some distance left after the climb to allow for some quick regrouping before reaching the finish line, any rider left behind on the Col de Vence will most certainly have to say goodbye to his chances of getting a podium…

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The ProTour squad Team Milram received bad news last Thursday when they didn’t get on the list of the starting squads for the 2010 Paris-Nice. The Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) has offered a consolation prize to the team, however, by promising to include them in other ASO events.

The German ProTour team will be missing the Paris-Nice this season, so they will have to look forward instead to competing in upcoming events such as the Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogen-Liège, the Dauphiné Libéré, and of course, the Tour de France.

Milram team manager Gerry Van Gerwen admitted that the team is expectedly disappointed by the ASO’s decision to leave them out of the race. They will need to rearrange their riders’ schedules and look for other options to Paris-Nice.

Team Milram will still be very busy this season, starting with the Tour of Qatar from February 7-12 and the Tour of Oman from February…

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22 teams will be seeing action in the upcoming 2010 Paris-Nice, which will begin on March 7 in Montfort l’Amaury and end one week later on March 14 in Nice.

Alberto Contador will have a chance to redeem himself as Team Astana is one of the invited teams scheduled to compete. Contador, a two-time Tour de France champion, has been harboring bitter memories of his last year’s Paris-Nice performance, when he reportedly ‘bonked’ during a critical stage and lost the overall lead which he had grabbed in earlier stages. Luis Leon Sanchez ended up as the winner.

Sylvain Chavanel is expected to race for Team Quick Step. He won stage 3 last year and finished 2nd overall, so he poses a powerful challenge to anyone looking for the title this year.

Teams Milram and Footon-Servetto will not be joining the event, however, since both teams failed the automatic…

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